Shelia Reader School days in the 1950’s

I would like to share my memories with you about my school days in Heath Hayes and about the educational problems caused by mining subsidence to the Wimblebury road junior school. I went to the infant school next door when a rather fearsome lady called Miss Walker was the head mistress. The reception class was taught by a Miss Davis who always wore a flowery smock over her dress and taught us to recite poetry every day. The second year was taken by Mrs Hudson and we had a mock market stall in the corner of the classroom and took it in turns to be shopkeeper or customer thus learning about weights and measures and adding up money for change while playing. Maths made fun!. When we had to applaud anything we always were told to do a thumb nail clap to avoid disturbing the next room. Then finally the exciting day arrived when we would all go up to the big school, our mum’s usually stood outside to see us walking proudly across the playground and through the gate to the junior school. Unfortunately we were only in that building for a few months before it was condemned and deemed to be unsafe due to mining subsidence. From that point onwards we were no longer together as a school. The only lesson I can recall having there was music and movement to the radio in the assembly hall. The school was dispersed through the village with two classes being held in the St John’s church hall with only a couple of screens between the two classes and every word being overheard, one class in the Bourne Methodist church hall but of course there was no playground at all and one class in the little chapel on the Wimblebury road. This was the best venue as we could play in the field opposite and climb the trees. It was only for our final few months that the new school in Hill St was finished and we completed our secondary education there. The downside of this separation was that you only knew your own class and never met any other pupils. The staff did a wonderful job despite very difficult conditions; the headmaster was Bob Evans who had his study in the vestry at the Bourne chapel. Other teachers were Mr Harry Orme, Mr Savage and Mr Falkener. The intake area covered Heath Hayes and Wimblebury so it was quite a walk up that hill in the winter as no one was taken to school by car. Despite all these problems we still received a very good basic all round education. The pupils I can remember in my year were Ruth Fereday, Margaret Hawkins, Margaret Hughes, David Jordan, David Johnson, Irene Darby, David Grantham, Janet Mellor, Pauline Forester, Gene Dace, Sidney Degg, Gerald Nicholls, Janet Slater, Paul Kelsey, Margaret Almond, Tony Bill, Valerie Street, Ralph Instone, Joyce Lee, Margaret Poyser, Cynthia Bakewell, Roger Riggs, Maureen Thacker and Linda Badger. I would love to hear from any of you if you read these rumblings.